This invention is in the field of movable wall panels and space dividers which may be made to conform and fit a desired functional usage. There are in the prior art many types of wall panels of designs useful in designing and arranging floor plans for buildings to meet various functional needs of offices, homes or the like.
Typical of such prior art is that shown in the following patent references:
______________________________________ U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,154,622 2,730,209 2,787,812 2,832,101 3,694,975 3,713,257 3,049,197 3,492,766 3,429,601 3,488,908 3,852,926 2,107,624 3,299,594 3,075,253 2,371,300 3,194,361 3,377,756 3,643,395 3,919,820 ______________________________________ Great Britain Pat. Nos. 179,840 (1922) 197,184 (1923) Italy Pat. No. 553,280 (1956) Sweden Pat. No. 129,429 (1950) ______________________________________
These movable walls and dividers are of such construction, however, that they are not adaptable to quick assembly or to new and changing material and design concepts for decorating or redecorating. In addition, the prior known wall panels are burdensome to assemble and, in some instances, do not provide sufficient separation of office functions to prevent noise or other distracting influences from the next adjacent area, and do not have the appearance of a permanent wall.
The foregoing drawbacks were largely obviated by the free-standing, vertical wall, or space divider, invented by Messrs. Raymond P. Roberts and Sven Arthur John Nilsen, Jr., and disclosed in the co-pending U.S. Appln. Ser. No. 661,736, filed on Feb. 27, 1976 now U.S. Pat. No. 4,031,675. The present invention relates to improvements upon the concept disclosed in said Appln. Ser. No. 661,736, and particularly with respect to the wall panels and the components from which the wall panels are fabricated.